i. What is a music publishing contract in relation to contract law ii. what laws , statutes , case law do publishing contracts rely on ; where are these principles found iii. What are the overall functions of a publishing contract and what are the overall goals and why are publishing contracts an important tool in the music business. iv. How are these contracts disputed where necessary and what are the most common reasons for dispute on publishing contracts; elaborate on the doctrine of restraint of trade in case law where it has arisen such as in SCHROEDER v MACAULAY & ESSO v HARPER v. What are the most historical publishing contracts worthy of note why are worthy and how do past publishing contracts such as publishing included in 360 deals compared to publishing contracts today and are there any important laws that differ from the US / Canada and the UK. vi. Who is a publisher ;; definition , role , responsibility vii. Who is a music publisher ; definition , role responsibility . The basis of the paper ; The idea for the paper is founded in the regulation of relationships in the entertainment business ; specifically to highlight the importance of contracts in forging and moving relationships forward and highlight how they have done that and how effective or ineffective they have been. , especially in recording and more specifically music publishing contracts. I would like to mention that recording contracts and publishing contracts are not the same thing. What I am trying to say in this essay is a summary of the area of music publishing , the nature of its contracts and how changes in the law , decided case law had an impact but also point out that more impactful is rooted in the market such as new revenue streams due to technological advancements forced music publishers and the creatives to change their business models and as a result their contracts, the clauses , the rules and the profit sharing had to change and evolve. Please see file titled ‘copyright and business models in uk music publishing ‘ as a key reference point. Please see historical case SCHRODER v Macaulay as key reference point for restraint of trade doctrine ; this is a statutory / case law resource for reference. This is important to highlight as this case brought in a welfarist shift after 1968 (ESSO v Harper) within the area of restraint of trade illustrates an important aspect in the historical overview of music publishing contracts . You can also look at any differences between music publishing in the UK and in the US . Difference in laws , contractual obligations or just general industry requirements or differences for a more comprehensive overview. Some of the resources are based on us / global artists . For example Michael Jackson’s $100 m deal music publishing pact with EMI
